Sports

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl: Arizona hits scoring spree, routs Navy

ByJEFF FARAUDO jfaraudo@bayareanewsgroup.com

Posted:
12/31/2012 10:23:28 AM MST

SAN FRANCISCO -- Arizona State did more than rewrite the record books while scoring touchdowns on its first nine possessions of a 62-28 rout of Navy on Saturday in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl at AT&T Park.

The Sun Devils also provided a brief haven of distraction for teammate Marion Grice, who played despite grieving the shooting death of his brother eight days earlier.

"We opened our arms to Marion. We're all with him," said ASU quarterback Taylor Kelly, who threw four touchdown passes.

Grice, a junior running back from Houston, rushed for 159 yards and scored TDs of 10 and 39 yards. He was named the most outstanding offensive player of the game after contributing to the highest-scoring performance in a bowl game by any current member of the Pac-12 Conference.

Grice's brother, 22-year-old Joshua Wood, was killed by a gunman on Dec. 21 after purchasing a pair of Nike Air Jordan XI "Bred" athletic shoes at a Houston shopping mall.

"He was very emotional after the game," Graham said of Grice. "He's got a lot of brothers who love and support him here."

Grice, described by Graham as "a very private young man" under any circumstances, chose not to speak to reporters afterward.

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Graham said Marshall took Grice under his wing when he rejoined the team after spending several days with his family.

"Friendship is really the best thing you can do for someone in that situation," said Marshall, a graduate of San Jose's Valley Christian High. "I can't even fathom what he's going through. I just try to be there for him."

ASU (8-5) led 34-7 at halftime, fueled by Grice's 10-yard run and three of Kelly's touchdown passes.

Kelly finished 17 for 19 for 268 yards, with TD passes of 16, 52 and 50 yards to wideout Rashad Ross, and an 11-yarder to Alonzo Agwuenu. He also ran for 81 yards and a 1-yard score.

Marshall had eight carries for 59 yards, including third-quarter TD runs of 1 and 33 yards, in his final game for the Sun Devils.

"Our guys came to play today and dominated," Graham said.

The Sun Devils scored five touchdowns in an elapsed time of 8 minutes, 56 seconds in the opening half. By the time it was 62-14 with 3:39 left in the third quarter, ASU had crossed the goal-line nine times on drives that consumed just 13:38.

"We knew what they did, we just couldn't stop it," Navy linebacker and captain Brye French said.

"They whupped our butts," Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. "They had us on our heels the whole time. They were a machine."

The win was ASU's first in a bowl game since a 45-40 defeat of Rutgers in the 2005 Insight Bowl. In the three bowl defeats since then, the Sun Devils were outscored 149-82.